When I was asked to guest post on the blog of this newly formed E Cell, I was wondering. Wondering, what would that one thing be that would make sense to the next generation of entrepreneurs. I was randomly looking through similar posts and then the topic dawned on me. Please be forewarned that the following piece is highly opinionated, and might not make sense to some while it might make complete sense to others.

Coming from a technology background when ever some one mentions networking, I can only think of the tech support  hooking up several servers, routers and gateways with miles of wiring to create a masterpiece that is hard to visualize and a pain to troubleshoot. I cant even figure out how this term that epitomizes such a multi dimensional complexity ever came into becoming a soft skill that all the entrepreneurs now have started practicing. Probably some smart kid from the ivy league found a connect between the complexities of hardware engineering and the simplicity of human interaction. Or more likely that it was because of one of those hi tech startup geeks, the homo logicus, from the valley who personally found human interaction as complicated as system networking. What ever be the case, its a shame that the high potentials of human interaction has been reduced in stature to a mere computer “HELO” “ELHO” routine. 

This new found meet and greet routine, in all its shallowness does not address the depths of the human soul, removes the warmth involved, and manifests itself in the coldness that can only be associated with machines. Networking for the sake of networking is a blatant waste of time. Its surprising how people get into conferences network with dozens of people, come out and completely forget about most if not all of the people they meet. Think about it, similar conversion rates, one in a dozen, while tracking any other parameter in a deterministic environment would cause an immediate red alert. Why is it that, when such conversion rates are frowned upon in other situations, people just accept it as the end result of “hardcore  networking”, and move on without giving it a second though what so ever? Would you not want to do something better? If you are the extrovert type(most of the entrepreneurs are), why not, figure out a way to engage in a rewarding relationship with, if not all, most of the interesting people you meet at a conference.

Its time that people forget the 'N' word and start making good friends. When ever you go to a conference don't think about meeting as many people as possible, It seldom helps you. You meet, greet, exchange cards and move on. A month down the lane, in most of the cases you will not even be able to put a face behind the card pile that you accumulated. A better thing to do probably will be to look around and try to make friends with only a few. That  way you will get to spend more time with each of these individuals, find common likes and dislikes and generally plant the seeds of a friendship that will last. Most of the friends I have today are people I bumped into in one conference or the other. The conversation which started then is still in progress. And these friends have vouched for me, helped me, recommended me, why even gave me employment :-)

I think the key differentiator that differentiates cold hearted networking from a warm meeting is the amount of genuine interest you show on the other person. Guy Kawasaki in his recent book “Reality Check”, put it in a very nice way. He says that the best networking individual is one who shows genuine interest on others problem, finds common likes and dislikes, offers to help and strikes a friendship. If you are merely looking for help and have nothing to offer, then networking is not the best option. Showing genuine interest would open new doors, on the other hand a lack of interest will only put you as a contender amongst the fools who are in a rat race to collect the maximum number of business cards possible.

Being a young E Cell you will soon be hearing the 'N' word pretty often, promising magic to happen. Beware its a double edged sword. What matters is not the number of cards you collect or the number of High Profiled Individuals you meet, but the number of genuine friends you make who will be able to help you in your course of entrepreneurship.